Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky Sells 1,402 Shares of Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A)

Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky trimmed its stake in Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A) by 5.5% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 24,091 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 1,402 shares during the period. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky’s holdings in Agilent Technologies were worth $3,505,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Livelsberger Financial Advisory purchased a new position in Agilent Technologies during the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. MV Capital Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Agilent Technologies by 120.7% during the 4th quarter. MV Capital Management Inc. now owns 192 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 105 shares in the last quarter. VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC purchased a new position in Agilent Technologies during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Rise Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Agilent Technologies by 527.8% in the first quarter. Rise Advisors LLC now owns 226 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 190 shares during the period. Finally, YHB Investment Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Agilent Technologies during the 1st quarter valued at about $34,000. 87.42% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Agilent Technologies Trading Down 2.7 %

Shares of A traded down $3.82 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $139.04. 2,298,354 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,725,145. The stock has a market cap of $40.57 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.87, a P/E/G ratio of 4.86 and a beta of 1.05. Agilent Technologies, Inc. has a 12 month low of $96.80 and a 12 month high of $155.35. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $133.32 and its two-hundred day moving average is $137.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a current ratio of 2.15 and a quick ratio of 1.64.

Agilent Technologies (NYSE:A) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, May 29th. The medical research company reported $1.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.19 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $1.57 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.58 billion. Agilent Technologies had a net margin of 18.84% and a return on equity of 26.25%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 8.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.27 EPS. Research analysts forecast that Agilent Technologies, Inc. will post 5.24 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Agilent Technologies Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 24th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, July 2nd were paid a dividend of $0.236 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, July 2nd. This represents a $0.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.68%. Agilent Technologies’s payout ratio is 22.22%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Agilent Technologies

In related news, CEO Padraig Mcdonnell sold 1,958 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $130.00, for a total transaction of $254,540.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 25,185 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,274,050. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other news, CEO Padraig Mcdonnell sold 1,958 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $130.00, for a total transaction of $254,540.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 25,185 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,274,050. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, SVP Dominique Grau sold 15,000 shares of Agilent Technologies stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $133.28, for a total value of $1,999,200.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 49,486 shares in the company, valued at $6,595,494.08. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 18,916 shares of company stock worth $2,527,860. 0.33% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have issued reports on A shares. Stifel Nicolaus cut their target price on Agilent Technologies from $163.00 to $151.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on Agilent Technologies from $165.00 to $155.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 30th. Citigroup raised Agilent Technologies from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $135.00 to $150.00 in a research report on Wednesday, July 10th. Bank of America increased their price objective on Agilent Technologies from $134.00 to $140.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 25th. Finally, TD Cowen reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $153.00 price target on shares of Agilent Technologies in a research report on Monday, July 29th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $138.06.

About Agilent Technologies

Agilent Technologies, Inc provides application focused solutions to the life sciences, diagnostics, and applied chemical markets worldwide. The company operates in three segments: Life Sciences and Applied Markets, Diagnostics and Genomics, and Agilent CrossLab. The Life Sciences and Applied Markets segment offers liquid chromatography systems and components; liquid chromatography mass spectrometry systems; gas chromatography systems and components; gas chromatography mass spectrometry systems; inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry instruments; atomic absorption instruments; microwave plasma-atomic emission spectrometry instruments; inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectrometry instruments; raman spectroscopy; cell analysis plate based assays; flow cytometer; real-time cell analyzer; cell imaging systems; microplate reader; laboratory software; information management and analytics; laboratory automation and robotic systems; dissolution testing; and vacuum pumps, and measurement technologies.